Turbine



Pt- 19, 1944- w. SCHW IER 2,358,420

' TURBINE Filed Oct. 16, 1942 6 Sher-rhs-Sluegal; 1

M 6a A wb'e 7, INVENTOR.

DR BY Sept. 1944. w. SCHWIER 2,358,420

TURBINE Filed Oct. 16, 1942 6 Sheets-Sheet '2 ZM S fi 3' INVENTOR.

W. SCHWIER TURBINE Sept. 19, 1944.

e Sheets-Sheet "4 Filed Oct. 16, 1942 M achw-aeva INVENTOR.

Sept. 19, 1944. w. SCHWIER TURBINE Filed Oct. 16, 1942 6 Sheets-Sheet 6Patented Sept. 19, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TURBINE WilliamSchwier, Milwaukee, Wis.

Application October 16, 1942, Serial No. 462,311

9 Claims.

This invention aims to provide novel means whereby rotation may beimparted to the rotor of a turbine, by impulses derived from successiveexplosions of a gaseous mixture. Another object of the invention is toimprove the construction of the turbine. A further object of theinvention is to supply novel means for cooling or affecting otherwise,the turbine and associated parts. A further object of the invention isto provide novel means for preparing the charge and delivering it intothe turbine.

It is within the province of the disclosure to improve generally and toenhance the utility of devices of that type to which the presentinvention appertains.

With the above and other objects in view, which will appear asthedescription proceeds, the invention resides in the combination andarrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafterdescribed and claimed, it being understood that changes in the preciseembodiment of the invention herein disclosed, mayb made within the scopeof what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 shows in side elevation, a device constructed in accordance withthe invention;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation; v

Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section, show ing the forward portionof the-structure;

Fig. 3A is a longitudinal vertical section, supplementing Fig. 3, anddisclosing the rear portion of the structure;

Fig. 4 is an elevation disclosing the gate;

Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are sections, taken, respectively, on the lines -5, 6Iiand '|'I of Fig. 3;

Fig. 8 is a longitudinal section of the rotor, the abutment cylinderappearing in elevation, and the sleeves and correlated parts being shownspaced from the rotor and the abutment cylinder;

Fig. 9 is a sectional elevation showing one of the many mechanisms whichmay b employed for taking power from the rotor.

For convenience in describing the location of part 4 of the base 5 of avertical cylinder 6, the upper part I of the base '5 being formedintegrally with the cylinder, and the base parts 4 and 1 being heldtogether by securing elements 8, as shown best in Fig. 2.

A tubular carrier shaft II is provided, and i fixedly mounted in therear pedestal I, and in the cylinder base 5, The upper portion of thecylinder base 5 is supplied with a valve seat I 0, of downwardly flaredconstruction, communicating with the bore of the shaft II, by way of adownwardly flared opening 9 in the carrier shaft.

Until further notice, the valve seat III and the opening 9 are to beviewed merely as a means for admitting fluid under pressure into thebore of the fixed shaft II. That fluid, preferably, is gas produced byinternal combustion, as in an engine of that type.

On the forward end of the base 5, a cap I2 is detachably secured; thecap having a central opening I4. An air inlet tube I5 is provided, andis disposed in the bore of the carrier shaft II. The forward end of theair inlet tube I5 is mounted in the cap I2, th rear end of the tubebeing mounted in a deflectorblock I6, having a downwardly and forwardlyinclined surface I1.

A bolt I8 or other securing element holds thedeflector I6 and the rearend of the tube I5 in the tubular shaft II. To the rear of the tube I5,the fixed shaft I I is supplied with a lateral outlet port I9. Apartition 20 is held by a securing element 2I in the tubular shaft I I,and is located to the rear of the port I9. From the foregoing, it willbe noted that the air tube I5 and the carrier shaft II are fixed againstrotation.

A stator 22 is disposed about the carrier shaft II. A nipple 23 has itsinner end mounted in the shaft II, the outer end of the nipple. beingmounted in the stator 22. The rear wall 24 of the nipple has an outwardand backward slant. On its outer surface, the stator 22 has abutmentgrooves 25, preferably of semicrcular cross section, these grooves beingshown in Figs. 5, 6 and 8.

The .abutment'grooves 25- are disposed, each, in a slow spiral, having apitch of about fifteen degrees.

The forward end wall 26 of the stator 22 has ports 21, disposed close tothe inner surface of the stator and the wall is provided, close to theshaft I I, with notches 'or seats 28.

An inner sleeve 29 is disposed about the shaft II and is connectedthereto by securing elements 30 (Fig. 3). The sleeve 29 has anoutstanding flange 3|, forming a shoulder. The inner member 32 of ananti-friction bearing surrounds the sleeve 29 and is held against theflange or shoulder 3| by a ring 33, threaded on the inner member of theanti-friction bearing. At it inner end, the sleeve 29 is supplied withlongitudinally projecting fingers 34, which enter the seats 28 in theend wall 26 of the stator 22. It will now be seen that, by means of thefingers 34, the stator 22 is coupled to the sleeve 28, and through theinstru' mentality of the securing elements 38, the sleeve is connectedto the tubular shaft ll, all of the parts specified being fixed.

About the stator 22 is disposed a tubular rotor 35, supplied on itsinner surface with slow spiral grooves 36, preferably havin a pitch ofabout twenty degrees. The grooves 36 preferably are V-shaped in crosssection, as shown in Fig. 6, to prevent a substantially radial wall 31,adapted to receive fluid impact.

The rotor 35 and the end wall 26 of the stator 22 are equipped withcooperating seats 38, receiving a packing ring 33, supplied withcircumferentially spaced recesses 40 (see Fig. 7) which, thinning thering, tend to caus it to seat firmly, under pressure delivered, ashereinafter described, from the space between the stator 22 and therotor 35. An outer sleeve 4| enters the forward end of the rotor 35 andha an outwardly projecting flange 42, secured to the end of the rotor byattaching elements 43.

The outer sleeve 4! is supplied with a recess defining a shoulder 44,and in the recess is mounted the outer member 45 of the aforesaidanti-friction bearing. the outer bearing member being held in place by aring 46, threaded into the sleeve.

The structure at the rear end of the machine (Figs. 3A and 8) is thesame as that at the forwarid end of the rotor 35, savin as hereinaftermodified, and part hereinbefore mentioned, and appearing therein aredesignated by numerals already used, the numerals being primed.

Th differences between the structure at the forward end of the machineand the structure at the rear end of the machine are as follows:

The port I9 is, an outlet port. The forward wall 24' of the nipple 23'is the inclined wall and has an outward and forward slant. The tube I isan air outlet tube.

Another difference resides in the structure to be found at the rear endof the fixed tubular carrier shaft II. A plate 41 is secured against therear end of th shaft l l and has a cruciform opening 48. A cup-shapedgate 48 is mounted to rotate for adjustment on th rear end of the shaftII and has a. cruciform opening 50, adapted to be brought more or lessinto registration with the opening 48 of the part 41, the gate beingheld in adjusted positions by means of set screws 5|.

Assuming that rotation is imparted to the rotor 35, power may be takenfrom it in any desired way. For instance, a belt (not shown) may beengaged about the rotor 35. In Fig. 9, the rotor is designated by thenumeral 52 and may have a track groove .53, receiving the periphery of afriction wheel 54, secured to a driven shaft 55.

Assuming that a means is provided for delivering fluid, such as gas,under pressure, through the opening 9 of the carrier shaft l l, thefluid moves forwardly in the bore of the shaft until the inclinedsurface I! of the deflector I6 is encountered, whereupon the fiuidtravels outwardly through the nipple 23 and is discharged into the spacebetween the stator 22 and the rotor 35. The fiuid, cooperating with thegrooves 36 of the rotor 35 and the abutment grooves 25 of the stator 22,imparts rotation to the rotor. The fluid, proceeding rearwardly betweenthe rotor 35 and the stator 22, moves inwardly through the nipple 23',the fluid being delivered into the bore of the fixed shaft II, andfinding an exit at the rear end of the shaft, under the governance ofthe gate 48. The opening of the gat may be brought more or less intoregistration with the opening 48 in the part 41 and, thus, the backpressure may be regulated, the speed of rotation of the rotor 35 beingchanged accordingly.

Air enters the tube l5 of Fig. 3, through the opening l4 and, beingimpeded by the partition 20, can fiow through the part i9, and forwardlyaround the nipple 24, through the ports 21 in the end wall 26 of thestator 22, and thence to the ring 39 and to and out of the anti-frictionbearing 32-45. The air moves rearwardly, between the shaft II and thestator 22, and cooperates with the ring 39' and the bearing 32'--45', inthe way hereinbefore set forth, the over-plus of air being returned tothe bore of the shaft i I, through the port IQ of Fig. 3A, the airleaving by way of the outlet tube I5.

It appears from the foregoing that the turbine, including the bearingstructure 32-45, will be adequately cooled: or if conditions are suchthat it is desirable to raise and maintain the temperature of theturbine, hot air, instead of cold, may be passed through the opening l4of Fig. 3, into the inlet tube 15.

It is understood that adequate lubrication may be provided for any ofthe parts hereinbefore or hereinafter mentioned, the lubricating meansforming no part of the present invention, since known systems oflubrication may be employed.

As shown in Fig. 3, the cylinder 6 is provided with oppositely disposedguide bores 56, in which reciprocate the depending, reduced fingers 51of an inverted, U-shaped yoke 58 carrying a tappet 58 in itsintermediate portion. The numeral 60 designates an inverted L-shapedplunger (Fig. 2) including a horizontal arm which passes through thetappet 59, the tappet and the yoke 58 being.

held in place by a nut 6| which binds the tappet against a shoulder 62on the horizontal arm of the plunger. The vertical arm of the plunger 60reciprocates in a guide 63 on the cylinder 6 and enters a casing 64,containing mechanism 65a for imparting reciprocation to the plunger andassociated parts. The mechanism referred to may be of any desired sort,including a driven shaft 65.

In the cylinder 6, a piston 66 is mounted for reciprocation, the pistoncarrying piston rings 61. At its upper end, the piston 66 is suppliedwith a laterally outstanding flange 68, through which the fingers 51 ofthe yoke 58 pass. The fingers 51 of the yoke carry shoulders 69 adaptedto engage the flange 68, and held in place by securing devices, such ascross pins 10. Compression springs H surround the yoke fingers 51 andbear at their upper ends against the flange 68 of the piston 66, thelower ends of the springs hearing against the upper endof the cylinder6. The piston 66 is supplied at its upper end with a recess 12.

A valve 13 cooperates with the seat l0 and is carried by a stem I4, thestem being secured to the valve by means of a pin 15 and a nut 16, thenut being retained upon the stem through the instrumentality of a pin TIor the like.

In the bottom of the recess 12 of the piston 66 is disposed a packing18, through which the valve stem 14 passes, the stem extending through afollower 19, disposed above the packing and threaded into the piston. Acompression spring 86 bears on the follower 19 and is engaged at itsupper end by a nut 8|, threaded on the stem and held in place by asecuring member 82 of any desired sort.

In Fig. 1, the means for admitting the gaseous fluid to the cylinder 6is a pipe 83. In order to fire the charge, the cylinder 6 is suppliedwith any desired number of spark plugs-84 (Fig. 3).

Actuated by the mechanism 65a in the casing 64, the plunger 60 movesdownwardly, carrying with it the yoke 58, the shoulders 69 causing thepiston 66 to move downwardly, the springs H being compressed. The spring88 holds the valve 13 in closed position, as the piston 66 movesdownwardly, to compress the charge, and the effort of the spring may bevaried by changing the position of the nut 8|.

When compression has proceeded to a maximum, the compressed charge isfired by the spark plugs 84, the valve 13 being opened, when the tappet59 on the yoke 58 comes into contact with the upper end of the valvestem 14. The compressed and exploded mixture passes through the opening9 of Fig. 3, into the part I, and does its work in turning the rotor 35,as has been explained hereinbefore. Any suitable means common in the artmay be provided for preventing the piston 66 from forcing the fuelcharge out by way of the pipe 83. For example, a check valve 83a may bedisposed in the pipe.

The upstroke of the valve 13, to closed position, is brought about bythe plunger 60 and associated parts, the springs H serving to aid in theupward movement of the piston 66.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

l. A turbine comprising a tubular carrier shaft and a stator disposedabout the shaft, the stator having an end wall provided with a seat; arotor disposed about the stator, a sleeve secured to the shaft andhaving a finger entering the seat, a bearing including inner and outermembers, means for securing the inner bearing member to the sleeve,means for securing the outer bearing member to the rotor, and means foradmitting fluid under pressure into the space between the stator and therotor, by way of the bore of the shaft.

2. In a turbine, a tubular shaft, a stator disposed about the shaft andhaving an end wall provided with an outlet port, and means for securingthe stator to the shaft; a rotor disposed about the stator, a bearingdisposed between the rotor and the shaft, means for discharging fluidunder pressure into the bore of the shaft, means for conducting thefluid from the bore to the space between the stator and the rotor, adefiector in the shaft, to the rear of the conducting means, the shafthaving a side port located to the rear of the deflector and establishingcommunication between the bore of the shaft and the space between theshaft and the stator, a partition in the shaft, to the rear of the sideport, and an air inlet tube disposed within the shaft and opening intothe shaft between the deflector and the partition; the tube, the portionof the shaft which is between the deflector and the partition, and theoutlet port, forming an air conduit leading to the bearing andconstituting means for cooling the bearing.

3. A turbine constructed as set forth in claim 2 and wherein theconducting means is a nippie mounted in the shaft and in the cylinder,and so located with respect to the side port that air will pass acrossthe nipple, externally thereof, to cool the nipple as the air movestoward the bearing.

4. In a turbine, a tubular carrier shaft, a stator disposed about theshaft and having an end wall provided with an outlet port, and means forsecuring the stator to the shaft; a rotor disposed about the stator, apacking located between the stator and the rotor, means for dischargingfluid pressure into the bore of the shaft, means for conducting thefluid from the bore to the space between the stator and the rotor, adeflector in the shaft, to the rear of the conducting means, the shafthaving a side portlocated to the rear of the deflector and establishingcommunication between the bore of the shaft and the space between theshaft and the stator, a partition in the shaft, to the rear of the sideport, and an air inlet tube disposed within the shaft and opening intothe shaft, between the deflector and the partition; the tube, theportion of the shaft which is between the deflector and the partition,and the outlet port, forming part of an air conduit leading to thepacking, and constituting means for cooling the packing.

5. A turbine constructed as set forth in claim 2, in combination with apacking disposed between the stator and the rotor, the end, wall of thestator being spaced from the bearing, to permit air to have access tothe packing and to. cool the packing.

6. A turbine comprising a tubular carrier shaft, a stator disposed aboutthe shaft and means for securing the stator to the shaft; a rotordisposed about the stator, an intermediate partition in the shaft,deflectors in the shaft, on opposite sides of the partition, air tubesin the opposite end portions of the shaft and opening through therespective deflectors, the shaft having side ports located between thepartition and the respective deflectors, conducting means establishingcommunication between the bore of the shaft and the space between thestator and the rotor, the conducting means being located outwardly ofthe respective deflectors, and means for discharging pressure fluid intoone end portion of the shaft, about the corresponding inlet tube, andthrough the corresponding conducting means, the tubes and the portsforming a cooling conduit, of which the space between the shaft and thestator forms a part.

7. A turbine constructed as set forth in claim 6 and wherein the innersurface of the rotor and the outer surface. of the stator havecooperating, slow-spiral grooves, the pitch of the grooves of the rotordiffering from the pitch of the groove of the stator cylinder.

8. A turbine constructed as set forth in claim 6, and wherein the innersurface of the rotor and the outer surface of the stator havecooperating, slow-spiral grooves, the grooves of the rotor having agreater pitch than the grooves of the stator.

9. A turbine comprising a tubular carrier shaft and a stator disposedabout the shaft, a rotor disposed about the stator, a connection betweenthe shaft and the stator and affording communication between the bore ofthe shaft and the space between the stator and the rotor, and means fordischarging fluid under pressure into the bore of the shaft, thefluid-discharging means comprising a compression cylinder mounted on theshaft and having a valve seat, a valve ing engageable with the stem, toopen the valve at the end of the compression stroke of the ms"- ton,means for firing a charge in the compression chamber, a fuel intake forthe compression cyl- 3 inder, and means for actuating said member.

WILLIAM SCHWIER.

